Frenchman on trial for questioning use of Nazi gas chambers

Bruno Gollnisch, the No. 2 in France's National Front party, is accused of "disputing a crime against humanity."

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
gronisch 88 (photo credit: )
gronisch 88
(photo credit: )
A French far-right leader and member of the European Parliament went on trial Tuesday over remarks in which he questioned the existence of Nazi gas chambers. Bruno Gollnisch, the No. 2 in France's National Front party, is accused of "disputing a crime against humanity" in the trial in Lyon in southeast France. A verdict is expected Wednesday. He faces up to one year in prison if convicted. The trial had been postponed three times over the past year over procedural issues. Gollnisch also is the subject of a lawsuit filed by the anti-racism group MRAP. At an October 2004 news conference, press Gollnisch questioned whether the Nazis used gas chambers in the Holocaust, and suggested that the number of Jews killed during World War II might have been exaggerated. Gollnisch's comments sparked uproar among Jewish and anti-racism groups, and he was suspended by Jean Moulin University in Lyon, where he taught law and Japanese, for five years over the remarks. The EU assembly stripped Gollnisch of his legislative immunity from prosecution. Gollnisch has said he is a victim of a "witch hunt" in the case.